The present invention relates generally to surgical fasteners and, more particularly, to a surgical ligating clip having laterally positioned engagement means for receiving a closing force from clip-applying jaws.
Surgical ligating clips have been used in the prior art to ligate blood vessels, ducts and other body tissue during surgery. Such clips have been produced from metals, such as titanium, tantalum and stainless steel. Clips made from polymeric materials are also known and may be preferable to metal clips in some surgical procedures. This is because polymeric clips do not disrupt post-operative diagnostic procedures, such as X-ray imaging, CAT scanning and the like. Further, when absorbable polymeric clips are employed, there is little likelihood of a long term foreign body reaction by the host in which the clips are implanted.
One example of a prior art polymeric clip is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,562, and comprises two leg members joined at their proximal ends by a hinge, with locking means provided at the distal ends of the leg members for securing same in a closed position. The clip further includes bosses provided on upper and lower outer surfaces of the top and bottom leg members, respectively, for mating with jaws of a clip-applying instrument. The clip is secured to body tissue by applying sufficient force via the clip-applying instrument to the upper and lower outer surfaces of the leg members to move them toward one another until the locking means locks the leg members in a closed position. This prior art ligating clip is commonly used in open surgical procedures.
For endoscopic applications, a ligating clip must be of a size which permits it to pass through a cannula passageway before being secured to body tissue. An additional limitation on its size is presented when the outer surfaces of its leg members are gripped by jaws of a clip-applying instrument. This results because the combined height of the clip and the jaws should not exceed the diameter of the cannula passageway. Exemplary of such a clip and applier is that disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/680,215, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,249, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
With polymeric clips, these size limitations may be problematic since the clips must be sufficiently stiff to ensure proper ligation of the attached tissue. Because the polymeric ligating clip in noted U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,562 is gripped on its upper and lower outer surfaces before being secured to body tissue, the clip dimensions are limited for endoscopic applications.
Accordingly, there is a need for a ligating clip and clip-applying instrument in which the clip-applying instrument grips the clip at locations other than on the upper and lower outer surfaces of the leg members of the clip.